I was looking for a malty tasting tea, which Assam is supposed to be. I don’t know if I got a bad batch or what but it’s very weak tasting and hardly malty at all. The second time, I tried using twice as many leaves. It gave it a beautiful amber color but was bitter and dirty tasting. Tastes like socks!

Ok, this tea deserved one more try and I think i figured out why it tasted so terrible last time. I don’t think I was using warm enough water. This time I made sure the water was boiling. What a difference! Slightly sweet, smokey, and most importantly, malty! I added just a tiny touch of sweetener to bring out the maltiness.

I definitely enjoyed my two cups (second steep was as good as the first) this time around. I bumped my rating from a 5 to the 55-60 range. Still not going higher than that because it was inconsistent. Maybe if I finish off the sample with favorable cups from now on, I may change my rating again.

Now that I know how to brew this properly, I’ve been drinking it all day. I’m on my fourth cup. The first three were all steeped from the same leaves. It gets a little weaker with each steep but with a little sugar, it tastes more like a baked sweet roll each time. I really misjudged this tea. Re-rated again :)